Shang-Chi Appreciation 2021

[Tien Long]

Hi all. Well it's a new year and so a new appreciation thread for the Master of Kung Fu himself, Shang-Chi!

[Tien Long]

Just to get the ball rolling with Shang-Chi news:

- Issue #4 of the Shang-Chi miniseries has just come out.

- Shang-Chi is one of the participants in the "Enter the Phoenix" storyline in Avengers.

- Simu Liu, who will be in the Shang-Chi movie, has posted a clip of himself doing some cool Kung Fu choreography. Check it out!

[HsssH]

So, thinking about the last issue and the vision of Chi being bad. As I understand, in order to not become his father, Chi needs someone to "balance" him? Who or what is going to do that?

[Silvermoth]

This thread is definitely going to take off in 2021

[Frontier]

Happy New Year to the Master of Kung-Fu and all his fans .

[Tien Long]

This thread is definitely going to take off in 2021

Crossing those deadly hands, bro .

[Reviresco]

Looking forward to the movie and reading more Shang-Chi comics!

Also, Jim Cheung is the god of covers!

[Tien Long]

So, thinking about the last issue and the vision of Chi being bad. As I understand, in order to not become his father, Chi needs someone to "balance" him? Who or what is going to do that?

I chalk that up to the legacy of Shang's father. What we're seeing is that Zheng Zu had good intentions, but due to the loss of his more compassionate, younger brother, he had lost his way. The organizations and cults that he were no longer about saving China, but rather taking over the world. Shang is now in a position to rectify that legacy. Now, I'm not sure how. However, I strongly believe he'll take that position of leadership and try to guide it towards a more positive direction. Of course, he could be corrupted by it as his father was. Herein lies an interesting challenge.

Crossing the deadly hands of Kung Fu that we'll see some interesting stories from this!

[Englehart Humperdinck]

So, thinking about the last issue and the vision of Chi being bad. As I understand, in order to not become his father, Chi needs someone to "balance" him? Who or what is going to do that?

MOKF #118 from the classic Doug Moench/Gene Day run ended with Shang-Chi telling Sir Denis Nayland Smith he was the father he never had. Nayland Smith was created by Sax Rohmer and Marvel no longer has the rights to use him, but I'd like to see them introduce some kind of Nayland Smith analogue under another name.

[Tien Long]

Great to hear that Simu Liu has made it on to EW's Breakout Stars of 2021 List. Check out the link here: https://ew.com/celebrity/breaking-big-2021/

Very interested in what he had to say for the Shang-Chi movie:

"Shang-Chi hits theaters July 9, pitting Liu's master martial artist against notorious Marvel terrorist organization the Ten Rings. "It's going to surprise a lot of people in how small and intimate it can feel," Liu teases."

Hmmm, a quiet Shang-Chi movie? An intimate movie? Crossing the deadly hands that we'll get to see some depth with these characters.

[Tien Long]

Hey all. Shang-Chi #5 came out today bringing an end to the miniseries. Sorry didn't update everyone on the issue's publication, I was surprised that it came out today as well. Overall, I liked the end of this series. In some senses, this last issue was a surprise. There wasn't much Kung Fu, no big, flashy kicks or splash pages with Shang duking it out with anyone. But Shang got to show off his skills in other ways. AMAZING ways! Totally shocked at what the Master of Kung Fu did this issue! [spoilers] Shang has such mental discipline to handle all of that anger. He has mental clarity in seeing where Shi Hua's pain leads. AND HE FRIGGIN' CAUGHT A BULLET! Went wide-eyed when I saw that, holy crap! Shang can go bullet time! [/spoilers]

We also got a deep dive into the backstory of Shi Hua and Zheng Zu. The relationship between the two, wanting approval from someone who always sees you as a disappointment, who constantly compares you to others...........how many Asians can relate to that?

The ending is certainly interesting. I can't believe how little coverage it's gotten. This changes the power dynamic in the Marvel Universe. Shang has become a major player. I don't think he's an equal to Namor, Black Panther, or Dr. Doom, but he's definitely been elevated in their eyes. I would love to see him bring this element to the Agents of Atlas.

Plus I like the addition of the new cast. Esme and Takeshi seemed to be excellent characters. Ha, loved Takeshi's poem at the end. Recited it myself once or twice!

My complaints with this issue are the same as with the others though. The story hovers around these great qualities i.e. great fights, great character moments, great dialogue. But it doesn't quite land. It's good though as itself, but it could have been better. I certainly sets up things for future stories though. Indeed, the ending said there would be more Shang-Chi in the future.

In any case, what did you guys think? And where does Shang go from here?